Food for Thought: Habanero peppers for heat-lovers only

Weekly food rail, with info on an especially spicy pepper, an easy recipe for potato pancakes, trivia about PEZ candy and more.

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Wise to the word: Habanero

The habanero (ah-bah-NER-roh) is one of the hottest, spiciest of chili peppers -- for heat-lovers only.

Its distinctive flavor is best in ripe ones, indicated by their light green to bright orange or red color. Habs are used sparingly. They contain up to 474,000 heat units on the Scoville scale, compared to 5,000 for the jalapeño. Wear latex gloves while handling.

Mix all ingredients until well blended. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto hot, greased skillet. Spread the batter and brown pancakes on both sides. Serve hot.

Tip of the Week: Benefits of a convection oven

The convection oven, long a standard among professional chefs, is making household inroads.

Stoves and counter-top portables are available with this option. They use a fan to blow heat over the food, resulting in even browning all over. They increase energy efficiency, cutting baking times up to 25 percent.

Times are tough. So instead of spending money going to Macaroni Grill for a specialty Italian dinner (such as chicken marsala or creamy basil Parmesan chicken), you head to the grocery store and buy a Macaroni Grill dinner kit for five bucks.

But wait. You also have to buy a pound of boneless skinless chicken breast. Chalk up another $5.

The kit contains an envelope of seasoned flour, a packet of seasoning, a skimpy pouch of marsala sauce, and a tiny package of linguine, trimmed to half the standard length. You add your own oil, water and butter. And portabella mushrooms and diced red onions, if you so desire. If so, add another $3.

Twenty minutes and $13 or so later, you supposedly have a five-serving entree. But this is so small it would feed one person at my house. An entree, by the way, that doesn’t taste anything like chicken marsala at Macaroni Grill, which costs $14.49 and is hearty enough for two.

Do the math. Skip the kit.

The Repository

Food Quiz

What year was PEZ candy invented?

A. 1927
B. 1934
C. 1947
D. 1956

(www.funtrivia.com)

Answer is at bottom of column

Number to Know: 16

Grams of fat in two tablespoons of peanut butter, chunky style, with salt.

The only cookbook you need to help you begin cooking with confidence, even if you barely know how to boil water. This second edition is fully updated to include 112 simple and tasty favorites like guacamole, meatloaf and strawberry shortcake.

It even includes how-to photos for every recipe, advice on kitchen equipment, a reference to cooking terms, food storage tips and cooking times and nutrition information.

From the Beer Nut’s Blog

What I really want to do is open a bar someday. Not just your run-of-the-mill neighborhood bar, but a great beer bar. I’ve actually pictured what I want in my head several times in the past few years.

My bar would have around 25 taps - it would be a mixture and it would be a rotating list. I would also love to have at least one cask on at a time, preferably British beers, such as Summer Lightening. The bottle list would be extensive, and well thought out. I wouldn’t want to leave any styles out.

I haven’t figured out a name for this bar, but hopefully someday it’ll happen. You’re all invited when it does, and the first round will be on me.

To read more from the Beer Nut, visit http://blogs.townonline.com/beernut/

Food Quiz Answer

A. 1927

GateHouse News Service

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